“And I pray that you, being rooted and
established in love,
may have power, with all the saints, to grasp
how wide
and long and high and deep is the love of
Christ, and
to
know this love that surpasses all knowledge—
that you may be filled to the measure of
all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17b-19 (NIV)
”And I pray. . .”
Paul talked to the Lord about the people who were in the Ephesian church. As
Christians we have an obligation to pray for those on the front line in
spiritual warfare- the pastors, the missionaries, the church leaders, and those
serious about their faith. Jesus set the example to pray for all those who
believe in Him (John 17:20, NIV)
“. . . you, being
rooted and established in love. . . The first century believers came to
Christ because of God’s love. They became stronger as they grew in knowledge of
His love.
In our 21st Century world, we strive to allow our roots to
go deeper into Christ each day.
“. . . may have
power. . .” When we ask Jesus into our lives, we relinquish our self- power
for the power God gives us through the Holy Spirit. God told Paul that He works
best when we, His children, are weak. We have strength because of the Lord.
“. . . with all the saints. . .”Paul may
be talking about those who had been martyred When they came to Christ. We are
not alone; we join others who, like us, love the Lord. Also, there are those in
our cloud of witnesses, friends and loved ones who have gone on ahead.
“ . . to grasp. . .”
When we learn of Jesus and His power, we can’t always understand things about
our new life but, as our faith grows, we learn that we can trust Jesus for the
outcome.
“. . . how wide and
long and high and deep is the love of Christ. . .” As we mature in Christ
we try to understand about God’s love. We learn that His love for us is bigger
than we will ever realize. Several years
ago I saw a small card. It read like this: “I asked Jesus how much He loved me.
He answered ‘This much.’ And spread out his arms and died for me.”
“. . . to know this
love that surpasses all knowledge. . .” When we experience God in our
lives, we don’t act, think, or talk the same. All this happens in our lives
because we have God with us. All we can do is take this by faith.
“. . . that you may be
filled to the measure . . .”Paul speaks of believers being filled with the
Holy Spirit. He experienced the Holy Spirit on the Damascus Road. This passage
suggests each one of us who follow him receives the Holy Spirit according to
God’s measurement.
. .of all the fullness of God.” God wants
to give each of us an ample amount of His love, strength, and wisdom in order
that we may live for Him.
Graphic: applecherrypipz.wordpress.com
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I love it every single time I run across this scripture. I think He really wants us to get this, don't you? :)
ReplyDeleteRhonda: Thank you for stopping in. I find something important in this scripture: He wants us to have power to understand the dimensions of God's love and tobe filled with that love.
DeleteExcellent post. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteMary: Thank you.
DeleteHi Cecelia! Your little card reminded me of a song by Steven Curtis Chapman. He said much the same thing. How much does he love us? "One outstretched hand to the other."
ReplyDeleteThe idea of giving up my power so he can live in me is such a work in progress for me. God does work when we are weakest, but I have to allow that weakness. Ugh. Still having problems with that. But I am working on it. Like everyone else, I need that fullness of God!
Happy Monday!
Ceil
Ceil: Thank you for your thoughtful comment. We all strive to improve to be more like Jesus, As I read your comment this song came to my mind. 'He's still working on me" this is the url for it;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-2_3qrv7Tg
DeleteI love visiting your blog. I always come away at peace.
ReplyDeleteElsie: Thank you for the warm comment. May God continue to bless you and yours.
ReplyDelete